One Last Chance
by Melandra
Summary: Hi, I decided to repost this: What if Psylocke had another chance to live? Pls R&R. I'm up to Ch. 4 now.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Marvel.  
  
To live is to die  
  
Yet most fear death's sweet embrace  
  
Knowing what they miss  
  
She knew she had tried her best, but her foe was unquestionably stronger than she was. She feels his sword pierce into her side despite her attempts at using her telekinetic powers to defend herself. Telekinesis is what makes her an outcast, feared and discriminated by society. She is a mutant. Her name is Elizabeth Braddock, codename Psylocke. She has now fallen in battle against a new foe. She feels her friend and fellow teammate, Henry McCoy, aka The Beast, murmuring incoherently as he clutches her broken body to him in a bleak effort to hold her together while he encourages her to hang on, informing her that help is on its way. However this time, the calvary arrived too late, much too late. She feels Beast's shoulders heaves against her as he coughs heavily, his own body almost as broken as hers. She wishes that she still had the ability to communicate telepathically so that she could comfort Henry and convey her last thoughts for it seemed like the effort of speech required more energy than she could expend. She was neither sad nor afraid. She had a good life. It may not have always been fair or what she expected, but she had made do with it and had always tried to live life to the fullest, knowing that death was just a doorstep away. Especially with the kind of lives they led as X-Men though strangely, a lingering regret remained in the depths of her mind. She had not made her peace with everything it seems. A life she could never have anymore even if she wanted it flashed past her mind's eye. Is that what death always brings to light? What you cannot have? Or the deepest desires that you would never dare admit to yourself?  
  
She sees herself flying through the air unfettered, the wind blowing against her cheek and whipping her hair back and before she got too cold, a man with soft downy wings flies up beside her and wraps his arms around her whilst his wings enfolds her into his embrace. She sees herself walking down the aisle in a gorgeous white gown with her brother at her arm while a familiar face looks towards her from the altar with barely concealed awe. She finds herself swollen with child while her husband strokes her enlarged belly lovingly. She chuckles as she watches a little boy with dark violet hair and a small set of wings protruding from his back enthusiastically chasing after a similarly winged blond man around the garden with a water gun almost half his size. She sees herself older and applauding as her son throws his graduation cap into the air. She sighs happily as Warren assures her of her attractiveness and his love for her despite her aging before kissing her on their twenty-fifth anniversary. All these things she could never have, will never have, not now, not ever. She did not believe in reincarnation. One only had one life to live and one had to live it to the fullest. That had always her motto. But what if Warren never broke up with her? Would her path in life be different, would it be just like what she had glimpsed during the last few seconds of her life? If only she could have one more chance, she thought as her consciousness drifted off.  
  
"BETSY!" Hank wailed inconsolably, as he felt her breathe her last. Vargas was a new and fearsomely powerful foe and Betsy had given up her life to save Rogue and him. It was not fair. It never is. It should have been him. First it was Piotr, now Betsy. Betsy had suffered so much in this life, had to cope with so much loss, from the loss of her eyes, to the loss of her original body, to the loss of her telepathy. And now, she had lost her life in this constant battle for the peaceful coexistence of mutants and baseline humans. Is the price they paid for this cause worth it? Hank had to wonder even as the rest of his teammates rushed in with Rogue explaining what had happened in the background. He barely heard her. His body was wrecked with pain and grief. It was over. He dimly heard Thunderbird exclaim with horror and indignation as they placed Betsy in a body bag before passing out completely. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Most of these characters belong to Marvel.  
  
Confusion reigns strong  
  
Within strange circumstances  
  
A new chance at life  
  
She regained consciousness in a dark shadowy place that seemed alien yet strangely familiar. She wonders if being dead is supposed to feel so surreal. Is she in heaven or hell? Is it good that she cannot even tell the difference? Everything just feels so empty and meaningless here. She shivers but she does not know whether it is because she feels cold or if it is due to the sense of foreboding deep in the pit of her stomach. She attempts to study her surroundings to give herself some form of focus, however she finds herself unable to concentrate. She tries to study her hands and is shocked to find that she cannot see them. She cannot see her body either. Has she become completely blind? She starts to panic and tries to find her voice, but no sound comes out. What is happening? Where is she? The shock and confusion overwhelms her and she loses her faint hold on consciousness.  
  
Later, she hears voices. Unfamiliar ones. She wonders what is going on as she struggles to open her eyes, but her lids were so heavy. Hands brush over her body. She has a body! She can feel! A rush of relief fills her as she discovers that she had not become paralyzed. So why couldn't she open her eyes? She tried to move her arms and legs, but they felt heavy and cumbersome. She felt a cool metal piece inch its way across her chest and suddenly realises what is going on. A doctor must be examining her. She tries to speak but only managed grunt faintly. It seems her throat was too parched. Finally, after much struggling, she eventually manages to open her eyes and finds herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Her first instinct was to get into a defensive stance, since her last conscious memory was losing a fight to Vargas and it was possible that she might still be in enemy territory. However, she founds herself unable to move and wonders if she was paralyzed. With great difficulty, she managed to turn her head around to survey her surroundings. She sees unfamiliar people talking around her and then this awful squealing voice screeched into her ear.  
  
"Lizzie! She's awake! Oh Mom, she's awake." The squealing voice called out excitedly, seemingly mocking. Betsy cringes slightly from the sound and frowns irritably.  
  
A rather well dressed old lady comes to stand in front of her and stares disapprovingly down at her. Her tone is as stern as her look. "I see you have finally decided to come around after causing the family a ridiculous amount of unneeded stress and disgrace."  
  
"So what do you have to say for yourself, Lizzie?" the high-pitched voice chips in annoyingly.  
  
Betsy blinks in puzzlement. "Why are they calling me Lizzie?" was what she thought, but the first thing she said was, "hoo..cough mmmm...ooo..", and realised with disgust that her throat was simply too dry to enable her to speak coherently. She did not even seem to have an ounce of saliva to assist her in un-parching her throat. Fortunately, the nurse at hand also noticed this and swiftly placed a cup with a straw in front of her lips. Betsy took a quick sip, grateful for the cool liquid flowing down her throat, quenching her thirst while the stern woman continued to watch her like a hawk. Betsy took this respite to check out the area and noticed from the corner of her eye, another girl standing on the right side of her bed. The girl was a young looking brunette with whom Betsy associated the high- pitched voice. The girl continued to grin widely at her in a somewhat menacing manner. Betsy wondered briefly about her sanity when she noticed that she had used the word menacing to describe a young girl.  
  
Betsy nodded her thanks to the nurse after she had had enough to drink and turned her attention back to the stern lady. She tried again this time, "Who are you?" and was shocked by the voice that came out of her mouth. It was deep and coarse and most definitely not her own. She would have jumped up in shock if she could, had she not noticed something worse. The size of her legs. They were absolutely immense. How can this be? They were the size of a fattened calf, no wonder she could move. What is going on? All these thoughts rushed through her head in the brief second it took for the old lady to reply sternly to her question.  
  
"I am your mother, who do you think I am? Don't you think it is time for you to stop fooling around, Elizabeth? I am tired of your desperate attempts at trying to garner attention for yourself. Look at you!" The last statement was said with derision and what sounded like disgust and Betsy could hear an attempt by the young brunette to hide her snicker. Betsy blinked in confusion, her mind finding it hard to absorb everything that seems to be happening to her. Her brain felt like a blob of immovable lard much like what her legs looked like at this moment, and nothing seems to be making any sense. She searched her last thoughts, and they clearly showed her fighting with Vargas and being pierced in the side. She tried to look down at her side and was rewarded by large folds of unfamiliar looking flesh, making her flinch inwardly at her apparent obesity but no sign of any bandages through the thin fabric of her hospital gown. She was very sure that Vargas had pierced her through the side. "What are you looking for?" the sharp and stern voice returned to pierce through her musings.  
  
Betsy cleared her throat again before attempting to speak, this time hoping that it would not be that deep and coarse voice issuing from her lips again. "I am looking for my bandages." She sighed in despair, the voice was still the same.  
  
"What bandages? Do you even know why you are in here again?" the woman who claims to be her mother said scornfully, "Or has the drug overdose made you permanently stupid?" The brunette giggled again, this time making no attempts to hide it. It hurt. The ridicule of these people whom she did not even know puzzled and hurt her even though Betsy had always prided herself with having a good deal of self-confidence and a good self-esteem. She wondered dully if it had anything to do with her apparent obesity. Then she thought that she did not have to sit here and be insulted by these people. She did not know them. All she had to do was to call Brian and he would come and settle this. Or better yet, settle this herself. She is after all Elizabeth Braddock and she had laughed in the face of death and many other monsters in her lifetime. This woman is nothing.  
  
"I do not know who you are and I am not sure how you get off calling yourself my mother and ridiculing me whilst I am stuck here, in this condition but I can frankly inform you that it is not appreciated and your presence here is no longer welcomed. Nurse, please show this woman and girl out. I am not receiving guests at the moment." Betsy commanded imperiously. She felt slightly gratified as she saw the jaws of the old lady and the girl drop.  
  
"How dare you speak to me like that, you ungrateful girl! After all I have done for you! You do well to watch your tongue with me!" the old woman screeches indignantly at Betsy's blatant show of disrespect.  
  
From the depths of the room a new voice spoke out, "Mrs. Keller, you must pardon Elizabeth's uncharacteristic behaviour. She is merely suffering short-term memory loss and cannot remember her place." Betsy craned her rather massive neck to get a look at the speaker who sounded like the calm amidst a thunderstorm, but to no avail. The speaker remained hidden in the shadows or out of the range of her sight, which was mainly centered to the front due to the immense amount of energy required to even work her massively disproportionate limbs.  
  
"Doctor Ricochet, are you saying my daughter has amnesia? How can this be? I thought it was just a simple matter of drug overdose of which you have pumped out of her system. How can a drug overdose cause amnesia?" the older lady asked in a slightly disbelieving tone. The speaker stepped out into the light and Betsy felt her breath hitched slightly as she found the doctor to be extremely familiar. Ricochet. The name echoed within her mind as she wrecked her brains to try and think of where she had heard it before.  
  
The doctor gave a small smile said soothingly, "Mrs. Keller, your concerns are not unwarranted. In explanation to your question, the drug overdose caused a small shock to Elizabeth's system giving her short-term memory lapse. It will all come back to her soon. Give her time. Now, if you do not mind, I wish to conduct a checkup of my patient. Please wait outside." Given in such an authoritative voice, the woman and her daughter could only comply. They left the room without too much ado. For that, Betsy was grateful. Then she noticed that only the doctor and she remained. Even the nurse had left. The doctor was staring at her and Betsy shifted uncomfortably. Usually she would enjoy garnering looks from anyone and everyone but now she felt fat and ugly and scrutiny was scary. Suddenly she noticed the doctor grinning wickedly before changing form in front of her eyes. Betsy's eyes widened as she finally recognized the name and form. It was Spiral, also sometimes known as Rita Ricochet.  
  
"Spiral!" she exclaimed in anger and slight panic. "So it is you. What have you done to me!" She noticed that Spiral had the same red markings on her eye that means that she was somehow bonded to the Crimson Dawn.  
  
"What have I done?" Spiral repeated her question in a singsong voice and then smiled widely "Why Psylocke, I have merely just saved you from certain death." Her statement did not sound reassuring at all and Betsy's stomach made a few turns.  
  
"You killed Vargas? Where are the other X-Men?" Betsy demanded to know.  
  
"Vargas? Who is that? I was sent by Gomurr to employ the Crimson Dawn and my body-switching techniques to save your sorry ass." Spiral grinned crazily. Betsy felt a deep sinking feeling after what she heard.  
  
"You swapped my soul with whose. Where is my body now?" Betsy almost screamed that out hysterically.  
  
Spiral only giggled. "Psylocke, oh Psylocke, you sound like you might be mad at me for saving your life."  
  
"Answer the question!" Betsy demanded.  
  
"Only because you asked so nicely. You are now in the body of Elizabeth Keller. A.." Spiral paused for a few seconds as if thinking before continuing, "A twenty year old female who lives in London. You are now 5'5 tall and possess hazel eyes as well as brown hair. You also happen to weigh a total of 250 pounds." That last statement was stated with a gleeful tone before she continued further, "You are unemployed and your favourite pastime includes pigging out on junk foods, drinking a lot of alcohol, shooting up coke and reading. Reading's good. You live with your mother and your younger sister in a.."  
  
At this point Betsy could not take it anymore and cut her short. "Enough enough. Why this body? What happened to mine."  
  
"Technically Elizabeth, that body is not yours but Kwannon's. As to what happened to it, it was damaged beyond repair?" Spiral replied glibly. She appeared to be enjoying this a lot.  
  
Betsy wanted to cry out in despair, "Why didn't you just let me die." But she did not want to give Spiral the pleasure of seeing her suffer. She kept her silence and instead asked, "How long must I remain here?" To which Spiral replied with a grin, "You can actually get out anytime you want although the probability of anyone recognizing you in your current body would be close to nil. Maybe Professor X could sense you, but he nearly could not tell Kwannon and you apart now could he? You are a part of Miss Keller as she is a part of you." Spiral shrugged. "Body swapping is a confusing business."  
  
Betsy was glaring daggers into Spiral, but she knew there was nothing that could be done at least not when she was stuck in this body and powerless. "What happened to the girl then?"  
  
"She was grateful to die. She hated her life anyway. I showed a picture of you and she was more than eager to switch bodies with you. Of course, she didn't know that the body would be dead." Spiral answered in a non- committal voice.  
  
"You murdered her." Betsy accused.  
  
"Not really. No. It was you who murdered her when you lost the battle to Vargas." Spiral taunted.  
  
Betsy felt as if a knife had pierced her heart at Spiral's statement. She really knew when to add salt to injury. Before she could ask more, Spiral said, "Well, seeing as you are up and well, I will be taking my leave. Have a good life, as Elizabeth Keller." Spiral grins before spinning a complex dance and vanishing before her eyes. 


	3. Chapter 3

Betsy nearly calls out to Spiral to ask her not to leave. Spiral seemed to be her one last link to her old life. A life as a supermodel, a life as a secret super agent, a life as a ninja and a life as an X-Man. She was now a new person. An obese girl by the name of Elizabeth Keller. She heard and felt her stomach growl and that made her frown. Apparently, she had also earned Elizabeth Keller's appetite, which was not a good thing. She continued sitting on the bed because she could not move and watched the daylight slowly faded away to accommodate the oncoming dusk.  
  
The nurse finally entered the room and turned the lamp on. "Good evening, Miss Keller." she greeted politely. Elizabeth nodded half in a daze. "I would assume you must be hungry now. Here's your dinner." Elizabeth turned to look at the trolley carrying her dinner and she gagged as she saw what was on it. Lying on the trolley was a huge platter of roast meat as well as a large basket of bread together with a huge tub of cream cheese. A chocolate fondue lay beside the platter as well as a semi-large pot of steaming soup and a large jug of what appeared to be coke stood on the side.  
  
"I can't eat that much," she said softly. The nurse blinked uncomprehendingly at her. "Miss Keller, you do jest too much. Your second trolley of food awaits you outside. Once you are finished with this one we will roll it in." Betsy's stomach began its growling again at the sight of all this food. She mentally told it to shut up but it would not. Besides earning Elizabeth's appetite, she had also earned Elizabeth's weakness for food. The sight of all this food was tempting beyond words. The minute the trolley was placed before her, Betsy's hand began to reach out and she started grabbing and gobbling her food mindlessly for the next few minutes, without minding her manners or how messy she was making her gown or the trolley which was entirely unlike her. Betsy was always prim and proper, having been brought up in the best social behaviour schools. However, the hunger was overpowering, driving her to devour everything in sight. After she was done, Betsy looked down in dismay and horror at the mostly empty trolley. She could not believe that she had eaten all that food by herself.  
  
The nurse came in to switch the trolleys but Betsy choked out, "Please, don't bring in the second trolley." The nurse gave her a strange look. "But Miss Keller, you always finish the second trolley too."  
  
Betsy almost pleaded, "Please, don't bring it in. I am really too stuffed." Her stomach had other ideas however, she knew that if she saw the second trolley of food, she would lose her self-control again and finish that too. She could not continue in this way. She had to lose some weight so that she could at least get out of this bed. Right now, she could not even move on her own accord.  
  
The nurse looked a tad upset but she decided not to argue with Betsy. She left with the first trolley and came back in to clean Betsy up, for which Betsy was grateful because she needed to use the bathroom. It was at this point that she realised that due to her huge body mass and inability to move by herself, she had been wearing diapers. The shame showed itself in the sudden rush of blood to her face. Betsy could not imagine the lack of self-worth Elizabeth Keller had for herself to abuse her body into such a state of reliance on everyone else but she was determined not to continue in this manner. She was going to learn to walk by her own effort and use the bathroom by herself. She was also going to seek out her brother, Professor Xavier and the X-Men and Warren and kill Spiral and Vargas. But first things first. She needed to lose a lot of weight.  
  
Her mother or more like Elizabeth's mother entered the room after the nurse had washed her up and glowered at her. "Do you think all that food comes for free? You should know better than to waste food. All those children in Africa have nothing to eat and you, you are not grateful for what you have!"  
  
Betsy wondered for a second if this woman was deranged. Could she not see how large her daughter was? Was she not gratified to find that her child finally had the bollocks to try and lose some weight? She blinked stupidly at her mother for a few moments because her brain was not used to thinking quickly apparently before replying simply, "I would like to go on a diet."  
  
Her statement was met with peals of sarcastic laughter. "You? Go on a diet? My, the pigs must have learnt how to fly." Mrs. Keller replied. "I must tell your sister this wonderful joke." And then she suddenly turned cold again, this time pointing her finger at Betsy each time she made her point, "You have caused me nothing but trouble. From taking drugs to having an alcoholic problem, to eating like a pig and now you get yourself a stupid red tattoo on your face before trying to commit suicide. Then you start talking back to your own mother and that is just too much. I am tired of looking after you. You are more trouble than you are worth. In fact, I want you out of my sight and life forever as soon as possible!" her mother declared darkly.  
  
Betsy could not have been more relieved with what Mrs. Keller had announced. "Fine," she said evenly, "I will be out of this place as soon as I can walk."  
  
Mrs. Keller snorts derisively. "Better put your words to action then. You haven't been able to walk since you were sixteen. I will grant you your wish however, to go on a diet. I would like to see how far you can go before you break down and beg for my forgiveness. From this day forth, you shall only have one meal a day. Nothing more." With that, Mrs. Keller stomped out of the room. Outside, she could be heard ordering the nurse that Elizabeth was only to be fed one meal a day to which the nurse protests, stating that a patient needed nutrients in order to recover to which Mrs. Keller replied that she did not care.  
  
Every afternoon, the sister of Elizabeth Keller, which Betsy found out to be the squealing girl known as Quinntella Keller or Quinn for short, would come in to taunt Betsy with various assortments of chocolates and candies and other types of junk food. The only meal she usually had was dinner, so having not eaten a single thing for an entire day, Betsy's nerves and self-control were usually strung taut during this time. With Quinn's consistent taunting, Betsy would nearly lose her willpower and give in to the urge of eating all the stuff Quinn brings with her. Fortunately for Betsy, she herself was a very headstrong woman. She however vowed to kill Quinn with a nifty ninja move as soon as possible when she finally regained use of her limbs. The girl was plain evil.  
  
Everyday, she had been flexing the parts she could move, namely her hands, arms and feet. Moving her arms required a lot of effort due to the sheer weight of them. She persevered however and with the current single meals that she received, which had been reduced to just plain bread and water, (although she did get to eat two entire loaves which she is still trying to reduce), she was proud to announce that she had lost at least 20 pounds in a week.  
  
"So you lost 20 pounds this week. Care to celebrate?" Quinn snickered as she dangled a large bag of chips in front of Betsy. "It's only just a bag of chips." Quinn taunted in her squealing sing-song voice.  
  
Betsy closed her eyes. Her self-control had nearly broken so many times in the duration of this week but she had to hold on to it somehow. She kept picturing Warren. He was the one thing that had given her the determination to resist the temptation to pig out. She was going to go back to him. Warren, her bright and shining angel. The one clear light in the darkness of her world. She felt Quinn take a chip out and waved it in front of her nose, slathering the chip over her lips. It took so much willpower not to just open her mouth and let the chip slip in. So much so that she had to grit her teeth and clench the bedspreads in her fists. No! She must not. A tear trickled down her fat white face. "Aww, big fat Lizzie's crying. She wants to eat the chips so badly. Why doesn't she open her mouth and eat it? There's more than enough to go around. Mmm..." the sound of crunching chips could be heard as Quinn ate one by herself. "This tastes so good. Wouldn't Lizzie like one? There! I'll just give her the whole bagful." With that said, Quinn tipped the bag over Betsy, and it began raining chips. Quinn giggled at the mess she made, then she skipped merrily out of the room leaving Betsy to battle with the urge to pick up each chip and consume it. 


	4. Chapter 4

Within a month, Betsy could eventually get up off the bed and walk to the washroom by herself. However, longer trips made her leg muscles shiver and threaten to collapse. If she fell somewhere outside her room, two to three men would have to be hired to carry her back to her room hence she was only allowed to walk around in her room. Betsy was grateful though, that her room had a spacious balcony. She had begun waking at dawn and doing stretching exercises, albeit with much difficulty and shuffling there. She never knew how much she had taken her previous body for granted. The feeling of being one with it and being the master of it. Here, her body was her master and she could hardly control it much less make it do what she wants. Walking itself was already a very tricky thing to do. But Betsy felt that she had to leave this place as soon as possible. It never felt like home to her anyway. She doubted if Elizabeth Keller felt at home here.  
  
On her first trip to the washroom by herself, Betsy finally got to examine her own reflection carefully for the first time on the mirror in there. She had prior glimpses of herself in reflective areas before but never a clear actual look. She actually flinched when she saw it. She knew she had brown hair and sure enough, the mirror showed a headful of badly maintained uneven and stringy brown hair. Even the familiar red tattoo was there. Her nose was rather non-descript and her lips were fat like the rest of her. However, she was endowed with a lovely pair of hazel-coloured eyes. Although the fat in her face tries to overwhelm her eyes they still stood out. Large and puppy-like and obviously her best asset. Her eyes well up with water as she continued to stare at her mirror image. Her predicament was almost too hard to bear. She really wished she had died in the battle, but when that thought crossed her mind, she gave herself a mental slap. Betsy is not one to heap self-pity on herself. She had always made do with whatever situations she was placed in and this time she would do it even if it would be through sheer willpower alone.  
  
She planned her departure not long after she could walk. Sure enough, Elizabeth Keller's mother was shocked that her once over-dependent, low self-esteemed and timid daughter had suddenly built up the courage enough to walk away from the warm and comfortable shelter and refuge her mother had provided. She did not take Elizabeth's plan for moving out well despite her previous contempt and threats of kicking her out the minute she could walk. She basically told Betsy that if she walked out of the house, she was never allowed to step foot into it again, and she could forget about inheriting anything from her. Betsy did not care. She left. She was free and freedom never tasted so good before that day.  
  
Betsy's plan was this. To move out first, to get a job of her own because despite being rich and famous as Elizabeth Braddock, she had no way of accessing her trust funds or money unless she contacted Brian. However, despite being twins with Brian, she wanted no one who knew her to see her like this. Bulging with fat. She intended to lose most of her weight before she went to look for her brother and the X-Men. But the fates conspired against her. Although she was a very learned woman as Betsy Braddock, Elizabeth Keller had neither the certificates to proof Betsy's calibre of intelligence nor the looks to charm any potential employers. She ended up working for a minimum wage at a used bookstore on a quaint little suburb in the outskirts of the city. It was barely enough to make ends meet but she took on another job so she would have just enough to pay her rent and other bills. She wondered how she was going to save enough to at least purchase her own ticket to New York, where the X-Men were.  
  
In the early mornings, she began practicing her martial arts. Elizabeth Keller's body was not at all adept unlike her previous body but she was determined and sure that with practice, she would be able to reach close to her previous stage of physical excellence. Currently all her moves were in her head, her body had neither the instincts nor the ability to execute most of them. Jogging had become one of her main form of exercise because it was cheap. Her diet had reduced to healthier foods and she was well on her way to losing some serious weight. All seemed to be going according to her plan.  
  
The next blow occurred when she was working at her second part time job at a diner. There was a television playing there and she noted that the highlight of the news was a major event the Prince of Wales was holding for many distinguished guests. She had been paying cursory attention while serving the customers until she heard Warren's name being announced. She turned her eyes eagerly to look at the television. She had not seen him in months and she wondered if he still looked the same. However, the best and worst sight greeted her eyes. Warren was walking down the red carpet, all arrogant and handsome as he usually is and she knew he would not be blue because he usually wore image inducers to such functions. He was wearing a tuxedo and he really looked good in one and he knew it. She smiled. That was the best part. The worst part, the thing that made her heart sink, was that hanging onto his arm was a blond girl in a glittering red gown giggling as he whispered something into her ear. She looked awfully like Paige Guthrie, Samuel Gurthrie's sister. 


	5. Chapter 5

The event brought her down somewhat. Betsy never thought she would cry over a man but Warren had been her light for these long and difficult months. The one thing she had been hanging on to. She was not expecting him to wait for her. She knew he thought she was dead. Heck...everyone that knew her thought she was dead but she just did not expect him to move on so quickly. To already be in the arms of another girl. A girl ten years his junior even.  
  
Betsy was a strong lady however. She managed to go grocery shopping after work, trying to push the image of Warren and Paige on the television to the back of her mind. If she was not trying to preoccupy her mind from thoughts of them, she might have realized that Warren and Paige were right here in London, probably seeing the same night sky as her when she looked up and she could probably approach Warren without the need to earn money for an air ticket back to the United States. But she was too distracted by this heart wrenching pain in her chest to think clearly. She also bought uncharacteristic items along with her regular grocery. She did not even realize that until she was paying for the stuff at the counter. She had bought half a dozen six-packs of beer and a whole bunch of junk food. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her rationality told her that she could not afford this. Not if she wanted to save for that ticket back to New York but another part of her ignored that voice of rationality and paid for the items. After purchasing the stuff, she hurried home, nearly losing control but managing to hold back her sobs until she reached the tiny, dinghy one-room apartment that she could just barely afford. Inside the privacy of the place which she now called home, her tears fell uncontrollably. The image of Warren, no the concept of Warren waiting for his true love which was her was what had spurred her on. Betsy prided herself on practicality. She was never one for mooning over romantic fantasies or pipedreams. However, Warren was neither. They had shared a real and tangible bond, a relationship that lasted for the past two years. True, Warren had initiated the break up during Christmas however, she was perfectly certain even without her telepathy that he did still love her. He felt that she valued her freedom more than him which in a way was true before but death usually puts one priorities into perspective. She had wanted to live life to the fullest. That was what she told Neal the night before her death and she now knew what that fullness of life was. She had gotten a glimpse of it the day she died. Her possible future with Warren. However, all that was gone. She was trapped in a body not her own and nobody knew she was still alive. Warren too, had moved on in life.  
  
The tears fell repeatedly as she wept in self-pity. The practical part of her was amazed that she possessed that much self-pity and was yelling at her to stop this nonsense, get off her ass and do something about getting her man back while the other part was actually enjoying wallowing in this pity party.  
  
Temptation was there too. She tore open the packets of chips and started stuffing her mouth, washing it down with can after can of beer, with tears falling down her cheeks. Somewhere, she knew she was destroying much of her own hard work, but right now, she just could not give a damn. Soon her bout of binging was sated and she settled down into a fitful sleep.  
  
In her dreamscape, she met Spiral smirking away. "What are you doing here?" Betsy nearly growled at her. Spiral was one of the last people she ever wanted to see her this way.  
  
"How could I not come and watch the great Psylocke fall?" she smirked.  
  
"I am no longer Psylocke." Betsy spat out.  
  
"Oh yes. I noticed. The Psylocke I knew definitely would not have taken that blow sitting down." Spiral taunted.  
  
Betsy was already very upset but Spiral's taunting was making her angry. She had the urge to lash out at her and thought and action in the dreamscape became one. Her hand moved to give Spiral a slap but Spiral was just as fast, grasping her hand tightly before it could reach her. Although she continued to grin in a taunting manner, her voice was cold and serious. "Do not think the gift of the Crimson Dawn was given easily. It was given and it can be taken away. Why do you think you were picked for this gift? The Crimson does not just give everyone a second chance to live. Psylocke was one who celebrated life. She enjoyed living. She made the best use of her given time and lived to the fullest. Do you see the pattern here? Only people, who deserve it, receive it. You however, are falling short of such expectations."  
  
"Who are you to speak for the Crimson Dawn or its Guardian?" Betsy sneered, trying to hide her wince as Spirals grip was hurting her.  
  
Spiral smirked and let her go. "Gomurr sent me. Surprised? Gomurr's a coward. He didn't think he could give you, the 'Great Psylocke', 'the Talk'."  
  
"What talk?" Betsy asked, her heart beating faster. Gomurr knew who she was. Wolverine knew Gomurr. She had some hope after all.  
  
At this, Spiral leaned in close to her face, making her shift backwards but she found that she couldn't. Apparently a wall had suddenly appeared behind her in the dreamscape. "If you don't shape up, the gift expires..." Spiral snarled gleefully "and Psylocke's second chance at life goes..." with that, Spiral snaps her fingers at her ears.  
  
And Betsy suddenly sits up on her bed in a cold sweat, her shirt plastered to her back. The dream had felt so real. She looked at her hand and noticed the marks where Spiral had held her in the dream. So, it was real? The gift of life could be taken back? She wanted to be defiant. Whoever told Gomurr to give her another life. Who asked him to play God? Maybe she wanted to remain dead because it was her turn to die anyway. Nobody asked her what she wanted.  
  
She chided herself mentally for these thoughts. She knew that if consulted, she would have definitely grabbed onto a second chance at life. She had never been one to hide during times of difficulty nor was she one who soughs to escape trials and obstacles in her life. She had always been one who was willing to bravely step where none has treaded before and consequences be damned. She was a headstrong woman who was never one to back down from challenges.  
  
In a sense, Betsy Braddock was as much Elizabeth Keller as Elizabeth Keller was Betsy Braddock. The first time when she had swapped bodies with Kwannon, her psyche had mixed with Kwannon's that was why she retained Kwannon's ninja abilities and carried over her own psychic abilities and why Kwannon had her psychic abilities and carried over her ninja skills. If this bodyswapping was the same as the one before, she reasoned that she should still be able to access her psychic powers, nevermind that the ninja skills belonged to Kwannon's body, however, she would also retained Elizabeth Keller's weakness for booze, junk food and inertness. That could also explain the uncharacteristic self-pity and romantic dreams of a knight in shining armour. Betsy had always considered herself independent. So, was this really hers or Elizabeth Keller's behavior? Was Elizabeth Keller living through her as she lived through her body? Food for thought. She had actually never thought of it before when Kwannon and her had switched bodies. But then, she had not known, until Revanche showed up. Now, she knew from the start because Spiral was there to rub it in her face. Betsy decided to try to see if her telekinesis still remained. By rights, it should, according to her previous experience. She tried to raise the can of beer set before her. She tried very hard but to no avail. Betsy shook her head to clear it. She could mull over this some other time. Maybe the Professor could figure out what happened to her powers but this would be later. The meeting with Spiral had given her a small glimmer of hope. There was still one person from the X-family that she could seek out that could believe her predicament. Logan. 


End file.
